Duplo explorations

We saw the children working diligently with the duplo blocks, animals, and vehicles.  It was fun to see the different ways they used them.  Fitting together the blocks, snapping vehicle hitches together, and bending the little figures all require fine motor skills, including finger and grip strength.  These are precursors to writing.  So many aspects of play contribute to abilities down the road!

Concentration and Coordination

The children experimented with rubber mallets today.  We had a fresh piece of styrofoam block to work with and a cup full of golf tee "nails".  As you can see below, the children had intense focus as they worked to line up a nail and to bring the mallet straight down on it.  Some kids were very determined to get the nails in straight and took a number of attempts to achieve success.  Others were fascinated with the job of removing the nails with a pair of pliers.  It took a lot of coordination to squeeze the handles together, aiming to get a grip on the head of the nail, and to pull upward while maintaining the pressure on the handles.  It was delightful to see the children sustain the concentration, energy, and determination to achieve success.  

Hammering Away on a Friday afternoon

     

       
 

On Friday, several children continued to work on their  projects. The  Kohavim and Hafia  lunch bunch welcomed some friends from the  Tel Aviv class to join in the fun. The children concentrated on the task and at the end of the session Molly asked, " Can we keep doing this?" The children have enjoyed the process and it provides an opportunity to develop  eye-hand coordination skills.  Next week, we'll be back  to the woodworking shop on Friday afternoon.

To fill a Grogger

The sensory table contained three bowls, a few spoons with very short handles, and a funnel.  It was time to put something into the bottles we decorated on Tuesday.  The kids spooned colored rice, black eyed peas, and red kidney beans into the funnel and watched them pile up in the bottom of their groggers.  Next, they tested out the sound and decided when they had enough things to make a satifsying sound when shaken.  

The short handles on the spoons make it impossible to use the palmar grip, so the children must use the pincer grasp to hold the spoon.  This grasp is the basis of the pencil grip which the children will develop over time.  We're always working muscles to help develop coordination and strength.  There was also a challenge in keeping the rice in the spoon all the way from the bowl at the bottom of the bowl to the top of the funnel.  

At circle time, the Purim puppets told the story of Haman (boo!!!!!) and of the brave Queen Esther.  We practiced shaking the groggers when we heard Haman's name - and stopping together in order to hear more of the story.  We plan to share the story of Purim again and again in the next few weeks.  

Can I do a puzzle?

On Tuesday there was a table covered with puzzles that captured the interest of many of the children.  Although we did not have them set out this morning, one of the children asked if she could do a puzzle.  "Yes!"  She chose a puzzle and got right to work.  Soon another child and another came over to look for an interesting puzzle.  Eventually we had five children working at the table.  They fit in the dogs, vehicles, farm animals, and things one can ride.  Some puzzle pieces had tiny handles on them and some did not.  Either way, fine motor coordination was required to hold the piece and to orient it such that it fit into the puzzle spot.

Real Tools at work in play...

The Keshet kids had another opportunity to work with the real hammers today.  You can see that Abby and Allison are extremely focused as they sit across from one another, pounding the golf tee "nails" into the thick, heavy foam.  Abby grinned and giggled as she exclaimed "It went all the way in!" when her nail ended up flush with the foam.  So satisfying!  

This activity was offered throughout the day today and the children continued to be interested and engaged for long periods of time.  This is a great way to develop their eye hand coordination,  You can see the determination in the eyes of the girls in the photos below!

Is it Chanukah fun or Muscle Building?

 Yes, it's both.  We used craft sticks and white glue to make a menorah as we begin to prepare for Chanukah.  The process of applying glue from the squeeze bottle requires eye hand coordination to place the glue on the stick, muscle strength in the fingers and hands to grip and squeeze the bottle.  This offers the Keshet kids an opportunity for fun AND the development of pre-writing skills.

Shooting hoops together!

Let's shoot some hoops!

Caution: Contruction Zone

There was some heavy duty construction going on in our room today.  The hammers, "nails", and the pliers were getting a workout as the kids experimented with the heavy styrofoam.  Everyone took turns, shared the tools and "nails", and were very careful about keeping each other safe.  When Josh entered the group, he announced that they were "building a new house".  After snack, Josh was excited to move the people into their lovely finished home.

Purim Day Song

 

We had fun making masks and groggers and learned a new song that we will be practicing to sing along at at Newbridge Center.

"Purim Day, Purim Day, What a happy holiday.
Wear a mask, wear a crown, dancing all around.
Round go the groggers, rash, rash, rash ( 3x)
On Purim Day!!!

Rohan taught us the same song in Hebrew. We invited the Sunshine boys and girls to come and join us!!

Planting parsley

Many living things start from a seed. This morning, the Rainbows planted some tiny parsley seeds in light, fluffy soil. We are hoping that with the addition of some water and light from the sun, we will see them sprout and grow.

As you can see in the photos, Sami had to manage the scoop in the bin of soil, lift the scoop without spilling the soil, and gently tip the scoop to get all of it to pour out and into her pot. The development of eye hand coordination is happening here. Sami was very focused and was pleased with her work.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Our extra plush and puffy pipe cleaners were a big hit today. The children made necklaces, animals, swords, crowns, and masks. The quote of the moment went to Hadley who said while making a butterfly, "This is so easy to make, it's just kind of hard." The children enjoyed twisting the materials, experimenting with combining colors, and transforming their creations as their imagination beckoned.

Did Someone Say Zingo?

The Lunch Bunch children played the game of Zingo like they went to the "Harvard School of Zingo!" They independently decided who was going to be the dealer for each and every game, chose which side of the card they would play on (red or yellow) and cleaned up the game like they play Zingo everyday!

Zingo is a great game to play at home or at school...Image/word recognition ,matching, winning and loosing, fine motor skills and it's lots of fun!

Puzzles for Hand Eye Coordination

Puzzles! Many children love them (especially Drew!) and their varied levels allow us to present an individualized challenge to children at a variety of levels. Puzzles provide so many opportunities for learning. They aid in developing a child’s hand eye coordination. Think about how difficult it is for a young child to pick up a piece of a puzzle, turn it in the proper direction and place it where it belongs in the puzzle. The more they practice, the more it becomes second nature to them and, before you know it, your child’s hand-eye coordination is functioning fully. At school we start with shape puzzles, where each piece fits into one corresponding hole and work our way up to harder challenges, such as this 15 piece puzzle Drew is competently completing, as the child's skill progresses.

Woodworking 101

Wednesday lunch bunch friends elected to have a woodworking shop. The project was to make a geo board. There was a problem, however. We had only SIX hammers and NINE boys and girls. What to do? The fair way was to put our names in a container and then the first six would get the first turn to use the hammers. There was no peeking as they drew the names. Though there was some initial disappointment in having to wait, I was very pleased to see everyone shared and took turns offering each other the hammers so there was not too much waiting.
There were different techniques exhibited, some drew the circles first, then carefully, put the nails in place and hammered away. Others decided they could just hammer the nails w/out the design.
All equally great methods of design. We did not all finish but worked very hard.

Passing the Baton ~ It's a Relay

 
 
 
 

It was a beautiful day for a TBSCC relay. Sam, Oliver, Matt, Josh, Joshua, Nathaiel, and Jesse stood on their mark waiting and cheering for the runner. The baton was passed on and then they were off and running running running. Soon other class friends joined us. Dylan and Hannah were welcomed into the Kohavim class relay and were cheered onward as well. Such welcoming boys and girls.